Joint Training (4)
“Alright, that’s enough!”
A light tap on my shoulder. “This should be plenty for the kids to understand. They’re barely breathing down there—can’t we call it here?”
The only person in this place who could remain completely unaffected by my aura was her. And now she was personally stepping in to stop me.
“Our kids are smart enough not to do anything pointless like charging in again.”
“······.”
She could have blocked my aura herself if she wanted, yet here she was, asking for my permission instead. Was this her way of preserving my dignity? Her considerate gesture made me nod as I withdrew the Cheonma Gunlimbo.
“Pathetic.”
I spoke while pulling back the energy, directing the words at those still sprawled on the ground. And at the woman watching them with clear concern.
Below expectations. The disappointment was that much greater. I packed every ounce of that meaning into my tone, and the boy who should have been Class C’s representative—Ibil—gritted his teeth and glared at me.
“Does it sting?”
But what exactly can you do to soothe that resentment? These children possess talent. And that talent was amplified beautifully through Libra’s refinement. But that’s all it is. No matter how dazzling they appear on the surface, there’s no substance inside. That’s why they crumbled under the Cheonma Gunlimbo even though I hadn’t used my full strength.
If their minds had remained intact, if they had simply refused to lose, if they had steeled themselves to endure no matter what, they could have held on.
“This is your current limit.”
“Ugh…!”
“I’ve already withdrawn the aura. Yet you’re all still writhing on the floor like slugs.”
“Um, Zeon? The kids look like they’re really struggling…”
She really didn’t understand.
“This is exactly what happens when you coddle them like that, Professor.”
“H-huh?”
“If they had been in our Class A, at least half of them would have endured.”
This wasn’t an exaggeration. With the Cheonma Gunlimbo adjusted to the level I had used, more than half would have held their ground. There was no doubt that Class C had achieved incredible results in terms of raw combat power. But their inner core was still fragile—like tiny flames that could be snuffed out by the slightest breeze.
“Hey, you worms.”
“!!!!”
“This son of a—!”
“What? Are you angry? Then why are you still crawling on the ground? You lot who can’t even stand up…”
“Okay~ that’s enough. Enough! Let’s stop here.”
My suddenly sharp tone made Libra flinch before she quickly intervened. She was certainly outstanding. But the only domain she had awakened in these children was the martial aspect of their talent. Their inner selves weren’t tempered steel—they were brittle glass that could shatter at the slightest touch.
“Everyone, follow my instructions from now on. I will personally shatter those fragile hearts of yours.”
They were still lacking. So I might as well use this opportunity to fill in those gaps. I had no idea what form the consequences of my actions would take later, but at the very least, it wouldn’t endanger the world.
I would break their weak hearts and reforge them into something far stronger.
“Ah, those of you who are scared don’t need to follow. I’m not merciful enough to worry about cowards like that.”
“Haa… I told you to stop. You should listen to the professor, shouldn’t you?”
“A competitive spirit is excellent kindling. It will fan the flames nicely.”
Libra, who had been tilting her head at my words, gradually widened her eyes as she watched the students’ transformation. The same children who had just been seething with resentment, bowing their heads and shrinking back before me, were now…
“W-who’s scared!”
“You fuuuuucking—! I’m going, damn it!”
“Ugh… it hurts so bad…”
Every last one of them was rising with burning eyes.
“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Well… it served multiple purposes.”
Since their passion was blazing once again, it was time to head into the gate in earnest.
— Very well done. A leader must possess at least this level of charisma.
— The key is adjusting it so you don’t come across as too much of an asshole. That was about 0.9 asshole points just now?
“Still not a full 1.0, huh.”
— Your expressionless face helps, but if you’d added a sneer there it would’ve been a perfect 1.0. Still, since it didn’t quite reach that, let’s just move on.
I had taught them the Cheonma Gunlimbo, delivered the appropriate lines, and followed every warning I had been given. Even I had to admit it was a rather satisfying performance.
“Then we’ll begin immediately.”
“Ah, wait just a… Never mind. Let’s go in!”
And so we stepped through the gate without a single person falling behind.
“So this is a real gate.”
“I never imagined we’d actually enter one from the outside like this.”
“You lot over there. Instead of chattering, start scanning the surroundings.”
Thanks to the earlier show of dominance, the Class C students didn’t talk back or ignore me. They didn’t look particularly happy about it, but they still followed my orders faithfully.
Alright. Time to begin in earnest.
A thoroughly calculated, rational strategy.
“We’ll start the exploration. Numbers 3, 5, 12, and 20.”
“······.”
“······.”
“······.”
“Uh… y-you mean us?”
I nodded. “That’s right. You four. From now on, you will guard the front, back, left, and right. Release your mana and scan the surroundings in real time to detect anything present. Numbers 7, 18, 21, and 30—you’re the spares. You’ll rotate in when the first group gets tired.”
“U-us?”
“Wait, how do you even know our numbers…”
They were asking the obvious. In any strategy, the most important thing is how well you understand your allies’ capabilities. The quality of any plan depends on how perfectly you complete this process. And memorizing names is the absolute basics of the basics.
However, in an emergency there might not be time to leisurely call out names, so as a precaution I had assigned them numbers instead.
“Numbers 2 and 6. The moment any of the perimeter guards detect a monster, immediately identify its type, count, and equipment, then relay that information to everyone.”
“Y-yes!”
“…Understood.”
Good. The basic perimeter was set. Now the remaining personnel would—
“M-monster spotted ahead!”
“…Type is goblin! Five of them! Two in front are holding daggers, one in the back has a bow! The escort next to it is also carrying a dagger like the front line!”
They found one the moment I thought about it.
“Class 1, attach a talisman that increases mana conductivity to Number 13’s spear. Number 24, engrave an explosion rune beside it. Number 27, cast a high-speed buff on Number 13.”
“O-okay…!”
“Number 13. Prepare to throw.”
“R-ready!”
Adir moved diligently according to my instructions. I lightly tapped Number 13’s shoulder and gave him the target.
“You don’t need to aim directly at them. Throw it at the center of their formation.”
“Y-yes!”
Was he too nervous? He was even breaking out in cold sweat and answering me with formal speech.
“Throw.”
“Haaap!”
Number 13’s throw performed brilliantly. It pierced straight through one of the goblins in front and landed exactly on the intended spot.
“Next, Number 24. Activate the rune.”
“■■■!!”
Strange, incomprehensible words flowed from Number 24’s mouth. This was rune script. Unlike when used as a skill, hearing it directly in reality made it impossible to understand even a fragment of its meaning. If I had to describe it, it felt like my brain itself was refusing to comprehend the words.
Whoosh.
Along with the rune’s activation, the conductivity-enhancing talisman amplified the effect. The small spark grew steadily in size, and a powerful explosion erupted from the embedded spear, blasting everything around it.
BOOOOM!!
“Ugh!”
“Wait, why is the explosion so big?”
“No way, was Ruanron’s rune always this powerful?”
Even the person responsible seemed confused about where such destructive power had come from. Well, I could understand why. The rune explosions they had used until now had much smaller ranges and far lower firepower than this.
“H-how…?”
How, huh… If I had to explain it, I’d say it was possible because I had perfectly matched the party composition from start to finish. Number 13 throwing the spear, Number 1 increasing mana conductivity, and Number 27 providing a high-speed buff that amplified both the rune and the throw. Every piece had been arranged according to my calculations, and the result was more than satisfactory.
“Moving on.”
Number 24 stared at me with a dazed, stupid expression. It seemed he had finally realized that all of that power had come from my hand. The students who had participated in the recent battle began looking at me with completely different eyes than before.
Tap. Tap.
“Hm? Professor? What is it?”
“Do you have prior experience with this kind of thing?”
This kind of thing. She must mean gate clearing.
— I’m curious too. Your command ability is no joke.
— Seriously, did you come back from fighting a war or something? I’ve never seen such spine-chilling tactics before.
Both Cheonma and Hoya were making a fuss. Hmm…
“Should I hold back a bit?”
“No! No! Please give it your all! I feel like I might learn something too!”
— A professor learning from a student… Is this okay?
— My disciple, how about we have a sparring match sometime? With everything you’ve got.
Give it my all, she says. Does Libra even know how far my full strength goes when she says something like that? Well, it’s not like I’m some kind of strategic genius or prodigy. I’m simply using the knowledge I possess and the various experiences I’ve accumulated so far.
“Then I’ll get serious.”
Even that alone was enough to change how those around me looked at me. Libra wanted to learn from me. Honestly… this feeling wasn’t bad at all. In fact, it felt pretty good. So much so that I unconsciously found myself putting even more effort into thinking harder.